ITC Taps Orkla to Acquire MTR, Eastern for $1.4 Billion

If deal does not go through, Orkla India will press ahead with public issue plans

- Anirudh Laskar

ITC Ltd is in early discussions with Norway's Orkla ASA to acquire its Indian businesses MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd and Eastern Condiments Pvt. Ltd for about $1.4 billion, two people aware of the talks said, as the Kolkata-headquartered food giant looks to expand its offerings in the southern market.

The stake sale is a change of plan for Orkla, which was considering an IPO for the Indian business as recently as September 2024. The Norwegian company entered India by acquiring ready-to-eat food maker MTR in 2007 and Spicemaker Eastern in 2020.

"ITC is ready to evaluate the acquisition because the company is keen on some of the key southern markets in the food space. The company has been planning to increase the contribution of spices and edibles in its overall income for a while now," the first person said.

To be sure, Orkla has not dropped the IPO plan. If the company does not get a good valuation in a private sale, Orkla will still go ahead with the Indian IPO, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.

Replying to a Mint query, an Oslo-based spokesperson for Orkla said, "We do not comment on unfounded market rumors or speculation." An email sent to ITC on Monday remained unanswered. ITC's chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri did not respond to an email and a text message.